Childhood Cancer Can Be Cured If Detected Early - Global Campaign To Help Parents Recognise The SignsCategory: Cancer/Oncology NewsArticle Date: 05 Dec 2005

Cancer is the second highest cause of death in children between the ages of one to fourteen. While statistics show that over 160,000 children worldwide are newly diagnosed with cancer each year, the exact number of new cases each year is not known as cancer registers do not exist in many countries. Significant advances have been made in diagnosis and therapy during the past four decades and the good news is that childhood cancer can largely be cured if detected sufficiently early. Yet children with cancer who live in developing countries have less than a 50 per cent survival rate, as opposed to 80 per cent for children living in developed countries.

The International Union Against Cancer (UICC), a Geneva based NGO, and its members of cancer-fighting organisations in over 80 countries, are dedicating World Cancer Day 2006 to childhood cancer. Under the slogan, ‘My Child Matters', World Cancer Day will take place on Saturday 4 February 2006 and focus on early detection and equal access to treatment, as well as celebrating the lives of all children around the world in the fight against childhood cancer. Members around the world will join together to organise events, including a wide range of educational activities and fundraising events to educate parents about early detection in the fight against childhood cancer.

“Childhood cancer is more than twice as curable as all adult cancers,” says Isabel Mortara, UICC Executive Director. “To save thousands of children's lives each year it is vitally important that childhood cancer is detected early and that access to treatment is improved in developing countries,” she says. “Currently only 20 per cent of children with cancer living in developing countries receive the treatment they need.”

Knowing the signs can save a child's life The types of cancer that occur in children differ greatly from those found in adults, as do the treatments and survival rates. Frequency of many common cancer types differs between populations. For example, leukaemia represents almost a third of all childhood cancers in Europe, America and East Asia, where it is the most common childhood cancer. Other tumour types are more frequent in developing countries, such as lymphomas, Kaposi's sarcoma or retinoblastoma.

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Although there are different types of cancer, at least 85 per cent of all childhood cancers have similar signs and symptoms. These include continued, unexplained weight loss and fever; pallor; headaches - often with early morning vomiting; unusual swelling and abdominal mass; swollen head; development of excessive bruising or bleeding; white glow in the eye; and sudden changes in balance or behaviour. Since most of the symptoms of cancer can be interpreted as common child ailments, parents should insist, where possible, that physicians carry out tests to rule out cancer. Cancer in children develops rapidly and early diagnosis and treatment greatly improve the chances that the child will survive and live an active and productive life.

Bridging the gap “World Cancer Day not only aims to stimulate collective responsibility and action among families, community-based groups and the medical profession, but also to look for solutions to expand access to treatment in developing countries,” says Dr John R. Seffrin, President of UICC.

“Forty years ago, childhood cancer in developed countries was almost uniformly fatal,” says Dr Seffrin. “Vigorous action has changed that picture dramatically, so that today, most children live. In developing countries this is not the case, and the majority of children with cancer are still dying. Across the globe, we need to make surviving cancer the rule, not the exception. The UICC is funding specific projects to help make this happen, and hope that others will follow our lead to bridge the huge gap between the two worlds. The time to act is now, so that together we can help save children's lives.”

The young talents of the Little Dreams Foundation, created by international singer and song writer Phil Collins with his wife Orianne, support UICC in their fight against childhood cancer. An artistic or sportive passion can be an important driver in the recovery process of a child with cancer.

A young singer with cancer recently joined the Little Dreams Foundation for musical training and to share his hope with other children. Like many young people from the Little Dreams Foundation who work hard on a daily basis to develop their talents, children with cancer also need to make their dreams become a reality.

About UICC

The International Union Against Cancer (UICC) is the only international non-governmental organisation that is dedicated solely to the global control of cancer. Its vision is of a world where cancer is eliminated as a major life-threatening disease for future generations. As the world's largest independent, non-profit association of cancer-fighting organisations, UICC is a catalyst for responsible dialogue and collective action. With over 270 member organisations in more than 80 countries, UICC is a resource for action and a voice for change.

For further information visit: http://www.uicc.org or http://www.mychildmatters.org